Thomas had been appointed as CVC on 7 Sept 2010. His appointment had been challenged in the Supreme Court through a PIL by an NGO along with some retired government officials, in view of a pending criminal case against him in a Kerala court. It was also alleged that Thomas, who was then Telecom Secretary, was involved in the cover-up of the 2G spectrum scam.

The Bench of Chief Justice S. H. Kapadia, Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatantar Kumar delivered the decision today at Delhi. The three judge bench of the apex court noted that the appointment of Thomas was did not keep up the institutional integrity of the post of CVC and the choice of the Prime Minister's panel amounted to official arbitrariness.

The court also observed that "The high-powered committee has to take into consideration what is good for the institution and not for the candidate. The touchstone is public interest."